Square Enix bringing huge playable line up to Birmingham!

Prepare for a hands-on experience of titanic proportions, as from 22nd-25th September, Square Enix is bringing the open world epic FINAL FANTASYXV to EGX 2016 in Birmingham. Players will get to enjoy more game-time than at any other UK consumer event and there may even be some feathered guests to greet them…

Visitors of the show can also experience for the very first time, Lara Croft’s brand new Co-op Endurance mode in RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER: 20 YEAR CELEBRATION.

HITMAN fans will get the chance to try out a brand new contract made especially for EGX, and win prizes for assassinating their target with skill. Io-Interactive will also be hosting a very special EGX Dev Session on Saturday 24th September at 1:00pm. In HITMAN: Serial Thriller, Torben Ellert, Io-Interactive’s Lead Online Designer, will talk about the ways that Hitman has been changed over time, made possible by its episodic nature. The session will end, with a special sneak peak at the Episode 5 Colorado Mission: “Freedom Fighters”.

Delve into the fun and fantastic WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY and DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS both playable at the Square Enix stand.

And finally, for the first time ever in the UK, FINAL FANTASY XII The Zodiac Age and KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8Final Chapter Prologue will both be playable to visitors of the Square Enix booth.

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The full EGX 2016 Square Enix line-up is as follows:

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERSPlatform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation VitaDeveloper: Square EnixAvailable: October 14, 2016
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS provides players the ability to build a variety of unique tools from materials you gather, and rebuild towns and cities to restore life to the shattered world of Alefgard. Players will battle with famous monsters from the DRAGON QUEST series and interact with gorgeously designed 3D characters. The immersive DRAGON QUEST story and world to explore, combined with the freedom of sandbox gameplay, provides a new and exciting, family-friendly experience, with an intuitive control system, will have you building the towers and castles of your dreams in no time.

FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGEPlatform: PlayStation 4Developer: Square EnixAvailable: 2017FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE improves upon the 2006 classic FINAL FANTASY XII, now more beautiful and easier to play than ever. The HD remaster introduces several modern advancements, including reconstructed battle design and a revamped job system. With newly implemented trophies and share functions, as well as stark visual and sound improvements, players both returning and new to the game will experience a grand adventure that spans the world of Ivalice in an entirely new and improved way.

FINAL FANTASY XVPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox OneDeveloper: Square EnixAvailable: November 29, 2016
The latest instalment in the classic series, FINAL FANTASY XV is set in an enthralling world where fantasy meets reality. Players will embark on an adventure like no other. Join Crown Prince Noctis and his comrades on an epic journey of brotherhood, love, and despair as they unravel Noctis’s destiny and take up arms against the warmongering empire, Niflheim. With a captivating cast of characters, breath-taking visuals, open world exploration and thrilling action-packed real-time combat, FINAL FANTASY XV is the ultimate FINAL FANTASY experience for both newcomers to the series and series fans alike.

HITMANPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PCDeveloper: Io-Interactive (a Square Enix studio)Available: Now, New episodes releasing throughout 2016
The creative stealth-action game HITMAN sees players perform contract hits on powerful, high-profile targets in exotic locations around the world, from the highly fashionable Paris and sunny coast of Italy to the dust and hustle of the markets in Marrakesh in this creative stealth action game. Gameplay focuses on taking out targets in huge and intricate sandbox levels with complete freedom of approach. Where to go, when to strike and who to kill – it is all up to you. For the first time, HITMAN leads with a digital release inviting players into a world of assassination.

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8Final Chapter ProloguePlatform: PlayStation 4Developer: Square Enix and DisneyKINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a compilation that brings the popular KINGDOM HEARTS Dream Drop Distance to the PlayStation 4 system platform remastered in high definition. The newly improved title features brand new content with KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep– A fragmentary passage –, a new playable episode that links to the overall universe of Kingdom Hearts and the story of KINGDOM HEARTS III, taking place after the storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep played from the perspective of Aqua.The title also includes KINGDOM HEARTS χ [chi] Back Cover, a new HD movie that tells the mysterious story of the Foretellers and connects to the earliest parts of the series’ history.

RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER: 20 Year CelebrationPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PCDeveloper: Crystal Dynamics (a Square Enix Studio), Nixxes SoftwareAvailable: October 11, 2016
Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix continue to celebrate 20 years of Lara Croft, the gaming world’s iconic heroine, with Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. This new version will include the award-winning Rise of the Tomb Raider game; a completely new story chapter entitled “Blood Ties”, new co-op Endurance gameplay, PlayStation VR support for “Blood Ties”, all of the previously released DLC, more outfits, weapons, and Expedition Cards. With the exception of VR support, all of the new content in Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration will also be available for Xbox One and PC players. Current Season Pass owners on Xbox One and PC will automatically receive the content for free, and moving forward the existing Season Pass will be updated to include the new content. There is no Season Pass on PlayStation 4, as all of the content is included in the initial release.

WORLD OF FINAL FANTASYPlatform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation VitaDeveloper: Square EnixAvailable: October 28, 2016
Embark on an adventure unlike any before to an all new WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY. With charming, stylised visuals for both the young and the young at heart, players will collect, raise, and battle iconic monsters by stacking them to form adorable yet strategic monster towers. The memorable legends of FINAL FANTASY come to life in this imaginative, colourful world as an epic story fit for the smallest of heroes unfolds.

It’s a hell of a line-up. Even though it is disappointing to only get a playable demo of Final Fantasy XV instead of the full game (as it was delayed) it is fascinating to see that we’ll get hands on with FINAL FANTASY XII The Zodiac Age and KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. Be sure and check back for more news ahead of EGX 2016.

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